'Vi Machina' Exhibition on Display June 23 Through Aug. 11 in Vol Walker Hall

Rendering courtesy David L. Murphree

'Vi Machina,' a collection of work created by David L. Murphree, will be on display June 23 through Aug. 11 in Vol Walker Hall on the University of Arkansas campus.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – An exhibition titled "Vi Machina: Drawings and Ideations Towards a New American Power" will be on display June 23 through Aug. 11 in the Fred and Mary Smith Exhibition Gallery, in Vol Walker Hall, on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. It is presented by the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design.

A gallery talk is planned for 5:30-7:30 p.m. June 23; a closing reception will be held at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 11.

The collection of work created by David L. Murphree over about the last nine years resulted from a collision of various aspects of his life and his interests. He is an artist, architect and educator. He also once owned a trucking company and put 1 million miles on his own rig, a Kenworth T600.

"Witnessing and being part of the logistics industry, and watching rail, truck and air systems, changed the way I see the world," Murphree said. "No longer will I ever go get a head of lettuce at Walmart without understanding the incomprehensibly huge system of machinery that we have in constant motion to allow this. My life was changed from the perspective of seeing it with an architect's and artist's eyes and from being a component, part of the fluid dynamic of the whole industry."

Since his youth, he has owned motorcycles and sports cars, and he's driven big farm equipment. "I've always been around machinery, and have always had a fascination and a mechanical aptitude."

But over the years, he has also grown concerned about the environmental effects of some of these systems, and he has studied ways to evolve mechanized systems and industries to help improve the climate. He calls his approach "anthropogenic climate disruption correction."

As a result, this is an exhibition of his vision, and it focuses on two main areas: the locomotive and a self-powered manufacturing facility.

"I'm always coming at this from the aesthetic view of an artist, as well as someone who has a consciousness about where we need to move our focus in the climate disruption position," he said. "All of this has sort of converged, knowing that we have to innovate into the absolute cleanest, most efficient systems, or we're in deep trouble."

The exhibition will feature original sketches and precise hand and line drawings, as well as beautifully finished giclée computer-generated renderings. Murphree designed and drew much of this work, and he then enlisted the help of Fay Jones School students to produce the three-dimensional modeling and computer renderings. Six students have assisted him over the past five years, working part-time during their breaks from school.

The exhibition also includes related ideas and investigations. Murphree has designed a graphene based solid-state ultra capacitor, and he designed his locomotive around the ultra capacitor system. The ultra capacitor works like the lithium ion battery in a Tesla car, and it serves as the main component for all of the systems.

He's also designed the manufacturing facility that will produce the capacitor and the locomotive.

"The capacitor is going to have applications that are endless," he said.

This facility that holds the factory and corporate headquarters was also designed with heliostats that direct large amounts of solar light into the top of a tower and collect concentrated solar power. This developing technology exists in Spain and Nevada and is being testing in California, he said.

In addition to designing a beautiful tower that collects the solar energy, Murphree also has added four vertical axis wind turbines to the tower. This hybrid system to harness natural energy is something that no one has done, he said.

That energy is collected in the hundreds and hundreds of capacitors inside the facility, and the facility is always working off of stored energy, rather than produced energy, he said. As a comparison, gas and coal combine to provide about 60 percent of the electricity used in United States.

"This eliminates any and all energy from any fossil fuel, hydrocarbon source. We're manufacturing these completely efficient locomotives," he said.

Murphree also will have one three-dimensional piece in the show — a full-scale custom motorcycle that he designed and built several years ago. The built machine isn't exactly as he first designed it; it was the first iteration of a series he once planned to build.

This prototype for a pro-street drag bike has a 142 cubic inch engine, and it was built for his 6-foot frame. He worked on this with an engine builder and fabricator, while he was still working in trucking.

"Every component on this thing is jewelry; the motorcycle is an assembly of little jeweled pieces," he said.

Admission to the exhibition is free. The exhibition gallery is located on the first floor of Vol Walker Hall, and it is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.